Abortion

Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer: To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the Government of the United States regarding the possibility of the President issuing an executive order to lift the condition prohibiting abortion applied to all United States foreign aid, including humanitarian medical aid for girls and women raped in conflict.

Baroness Northover: UK officials are engaged in regular working level discussions with US Government officials who work to improve access to reproductive health. This has included discussions of the conditions that govern the use of US family planning funds-including those imposed by the Helms amendment.
	The July 2011 Department for International Development practice paper clearly outlines the UK policy position on safe and unsafe abortion in developing countries. We are open to discussing our position with others who wish to learn more from our stance.

Armed Forces: Medals

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Wallace of Saltaire on 31 January (WA 301), what is the policy of the relevant department about the wearing of Merchant Navy Medals; and whether the relevant department will now put forward a recommendation to the Committee on the Grant of Honours and Medals to enable holders of the Merchant Navy Medal to wear it alongside United Kingdom decorations.

Earl Attlee: We recognise the invaluable contribution made by merchant seamen to our national life, in times of both war and peace.
	Her Majesty's Government are currently considering the representations which have been made in relation to the wearing of the Merchant Navy Medal.

Bahrain

Lord Patten: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Howell of Guildford on 24 January (WA 199), whether they have made representations to the Government of Bahrain about the detention of Dr Al Singace and his living conditions in Jau prison.

Lord Howell of Guildford: Although we have not raised individual cases with the Bahraini authorities, we have consistently maintained that everyone, whether they took part in any political protests or not, should have access to the medical treatment they need when in custody. We have made it clear to the Government of Bahrain that the civil rights of opposition figures and the legitimate exercise of freedom of expression and peaceful assembly must be respected. We also expect the government to meet all its human rights obligations by ensuring its citizens can exercise the universal human rights and freedoms to which they are entitled and to which it has committed.

Banking

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they or UK Financial Investments or any other Government entity is party to or a signatory of the employment contract of any director of Royal Bank of Scotland or Lloyds Banking Group.

Lord Sassoon: UK Financial Investments Ltd (UKFI) is responsible for managing the Government's investments in Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and Lloyds Banking Group (LBG) on an arm's length and commercial basis.
	Neither Her Majesty's Government nor UKFI is a signatory of the employment contracts of any directors of RBS and LBG.

Biological Weapons

Lord Harris of Haringey: To ask Her Majesty's Government which countries they understand to be maintaining active biological weapons research programmes.

Lord Howell of Guildford: Since 1991, parties to the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BTWC) have been required to submit information on defensive and offensive biological defence research and development programmes, both current and past.
	Of the 165 parties to the BTWC, 69 returns were submitted in 2011, covering the year 2010. Many parties consider them to be only voluntary. Twenty-two states parties, including the UK, made them available publicly at: http://www.unog.ch/bwc/cbms.
	The publicly available confidence building measures show that the following states parties to the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention declared national biological defence research programmes in 2011: Australia; Austria; Belgium; Canada; Czech Republic; Denmark; Finland; Germany; Latvia; Norway; Portugal; Romania; Sweden; Switzerland; Turkey; UK; and the United States.
	We continue to push for those countries which have not submitted returns to do so. We also actively encourage those countries which are not yet parties to adhere to the convention and to abide by these reporting requirements.

Biological Weapons

Lord Harris of Haringey: To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made about ensuring that the Biological Weapons Convention has an adequate compliance verification mechanism.

Lord Howell of Guildford: We are keen to see a robust verification mechanism for the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BTWC). However, there remain no signs that the international climate has changed enough to permit universal agreement on verification, particularly given the need to operate by consensus. The European Union (EU) Council decision 2011/429/CFSP of 18 July 2011 relating to the position of the European Union for the seventh BTWC review conference stated that the EU is willing to work towards identifying options that could achieve similar goals.
	The second BTWC review conference (1986) agreed to introduce confidence building measures (CBMs). The UK has submitted annually, and several states parties (including the UK and United States) now make their CBMs available publicly.
	While CBMs do not replace a verification mechanism they do serve to prevent or reduce the occurrence of ambiguities, doubts and suspicions. We continue to encourage all parties to the convention to report annually. Currently only 42 per cent do so.
	At the seventh BTWC review conference in December 2011 the UK supported amendments to the CBM forms in order to improve their quality and encourage increased participation. We also supported strengthening national implementation of the BTWC and giving greater impetus to promoting its universality-31 countries remain outside the convention.

Broadcasting: Press TV

Lord Kilclooney: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will ask Ofcom to provide their reasoning for revoking the licence of the Press TV English service.

Baroness Garden of Frognal: The matter raised is an operational one for the independent regulator, the Office of Communications (Ofcom). Accordingly, my officials spoke to Ofcom, who advised:
	During the course of an investigation into Press TV for its broadcasting an interview obtained under duress from the Newsweek and Channel 4 journalist Maziar Bahari, it became clear that the editorial control of the channel rested with Press TV International, which is based in Tehran.
	The Communications Act requires that a licence is held by the person who is in general control of the TV service: that is, the person who chooses which programmes are shown on the service and organises the programme schedule. In this case the wrong person held the licence (Press TV Ltd, who did not have full editorial control).

Children: Parenting

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of how many children do not normally reside in a household which includes their father.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of how many children do not normally reside in a household which includes their mother.

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Stephen Penneck, Director General for ONS, to Lord Roberts of Llandudno, dated February 2012.
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking what estimate has been made of how many children do not normally reside in a household which includes
	1. their father
	2. their mother
	The Office for National Statistics does not routinely publish estimates of the number of children who live in a household which does not normally include (1) their birth mother or (2) their birth father. However the article "Children with a non-resident parent" published by ONS in Population Trends 140 (see www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/population-trends-rd/population-trends/no--140--summer-2010/index.html) estimated from survey data that 3.8 million dependent children in Great Britain in 2009 had one birth parent not living in the household. Information about the gender of the non-resident parent is not readily available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. HL15360 and HL15361.

Croatia: EU Membership

Lord Pearson of Rannoch: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they support the accession of Croatia to the European Union; and, if so, (1) what assessment they have made of the fairness of the recent referendum campaign, and (2) how many Croatian nationals they estimate will take up posts in the European Union institutions following Croatian accession and what will be the United Kingdom's share of the cost of those jobs.

Lord Howell of Guildford: The UK is a strong supporter of European Union (EU) membership for Croatia. The Government therefore welcomed the decision by the Croatian people who, on 22 January, voted to join the EU. The referendum campaign was not formally monitored by independent international electoral monitors, but we have no reason to doubt the fairness of the campaign, which was conducted in a free and open environment. It is pertinent to note that the 4 December general elections, which were monitored by the OSCE (Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe) Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, were judged to be transparently and professionally run, in a pluralistic environment. We now look to Croatia to demonstrate continued progress on the reform agenda so that we can welcome Croatia as a full EU member in July 2013.
	The UK supports the principle that nationals of all member states should hold posts within the EU institutions, and expects that the EU will actively support the recruitment of Croatian nationals after accession. We believe that this should be achieved without increasing the human resources available to the EU institutions or imposing additional costs on the EU budget.

Debt

Lord Roberts of Conwy: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their latest estimate of the totality of (1) private sector debt in the United Kingdom, and (2) public sector debt.

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Stephen Penneck, Director General for ONS, to Lord Roberts of Conwy, dated February 2012.
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics (ONS), I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking what is Her Majesty's Government's latest estimate of the totality of (1) private sector debt in the United Kingdom, and (2) public sector debt. (HL15112)
	Latest Data
	Using the latest data published by ONS on 22 December 2011, for the third quarter of 2011, please find below the information you have requested with further detail regarding how the sectors have been grouped and the specific data items we have used.
	Public and Private Sector Debt
	
		
			 UK. 3 Quarter 2011  
			  £ billions 
			 Public sector total financial liabilities 1,650 
			 Private sector total financial liabilities 28,063 
		
	
	Source: ONS, UKEA 3rd Quarter 2011
	Further detail
	The above figures are the aggregated total financial sector liabilities as published in the sector financial balance sheets of the United Kingdom Economic Accounts (UKEA). These liabilities do not make any allowance for the financial and non-financial assets held by each sector.
	For the purposes of this question, we have defined the sectors as follows
	Private sector
	private non-financial corporations;
	financial corporations; and
	household and non-profit institutions serving households.
	Public sector
	public corporations;
	local government; and
	central government.
	The total financial liabilities supplied are valued at current market prices (ie not adjusted for price inflation) and are unconsolidated.
	Alternative public sector net debt measure
	For the public sector there is an alternative definition of debt, which is the standard measure of public debt used in the UK to monitor (and forecast) the Government's fiscal position. This measure is known as the public sector net debt and the latest estimates are published in the monthly Public Sector Finances statistical bulletin jointly published by ONS and HM Treasury (at http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/taxonomy/index. html?nscl=Public+Sector+Finance).
	Public sector net debt is defined as the total financial liabilities of the public sector minus the liquid assets, and is valued at nominal prices rather than market prices. All data are consolidated across the public sector, ie all intra public sector asset/liability holdings are removed. On this basis, public sector net debt was:
	£1,004 billion at the end of December 2011, excluding public sector banking groups and the temporary effects of Government financial interventions; and£2,330 billion at the end of December 2011, including public sector banking groups and the temporary effects of Government financial interventions.
	The public sector banking groups referred to above are Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc, Lloyds Banking Group plc, Northern Rock Asset Management and Bradford and Bingley. Within the United Kingdom Economic Accounts figures, these banking groups are all recorded under financial corporations and so are within the private sector.

Education: Gypsy, Roma and Traveller Children

Lord Avebury: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will place in the Library of the House a copy of the equality impact assessment with regard to the ending of the two specialist consultancy services provided to the Department for Education by Arthur Ivatts OBE and Margaret Wood, on the education of Gypsy, Roma and Traveller children.

Lord Hill of Oareford: The Department for Education advocates the use of equality impact assessments when developing new policies or making significant changes to existing ones, but would not routinely use them when ending consultancy contracts. No formal equality impact assessments were drawn up with regard to ending the contracts of Arthur Ivatts OBE and Margaret Wood 21 days earlier than originally planned.
	The department is very grateful to Arthur Ivatts and Margaret Wood for the support which they have provided on the education of Gypsy, Roma and Traveller pupils. The department continues to seek their advice on an informal basis, through its regular meetings with the Advisory Council on the Education of Romany and Other Travellers and through the Gypsy, Roma and Traveller education stakeholder group.

Egypt

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports from Egypt of attacks on Copts and their homes in the village of Kobry-el-Sharbat (el-Ameriya), Alexandria.

Lord Howell of Guildford: We are aware of reports that Coptic homes were looted and burned in the village of Kobry-el-Sharbat. Ministers have regularly raised our concerns with the Egyptian authorities about the dangers of extremism and sectarianism in Egypt. We continue to press the authorities to promote religious tolerance, revisit policies which discriminate against anyone on the basis of their religion, and enshrine respect for human rights in the Constitution, including guarantees for minority rights.

Embryology

Baroness Gould of Potternewton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of the current commissioning arrangements for in vitro fertilisation treatment funded by the National Health Service.

Earl Howe: The Government are supporting Infertility Network UK, the leading infertility support group, to undertake a primary care trusts liaison project. The purpose of this three-year project is to gauge the extent to which commissioners are following the recommendations of the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence fertility guideline and sharing good practice in their treatment of people with fertility problems. A final report from the project is due later this year.

Embryology

Baroness Gould of Potternewton: To ask Her Majesty's Government, in the light of the proposed reforms of the National Health Service, what plans they have for the future commissioning of in vitro fertilisation treatment funded by the National Health Service.

Earl Howe: The Government are considering the future commissioning arrangements for infertility services, including in vitro fertilisation treatment. No final decisions have been taken at this stage.

Energy: Energy Company Obligation

Baroness Smith of Basildon: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the number and percentage of low income and vulnerable households living in fuel poverty that will benefit from the Energy Company Obligation.

Lord Marland: The Government's recent consultation on the Green Deal and the Energy Company Obligation (ECO) set out proposals for the size and design of ECO, and was accompanied by a draft impact assessment. This estimated that, assuming continuation of ECO to the end of 2022, there would be a reduction in the number of households in fuel poverty of between 350,000 and 550,000, compared to the number of households who could have been in fuel poverty at the end of 2022 without ECO. Many more households could stand to benefit from an alleviation of the extent to which they are in fuel poverty through the Green Deal and ECO. We are currently considering the consultation responses, and will publish a formal response in due course, accompanied by a revised and updated impact assessment.

Energy: Energy Company Obligation

Baroness Smith of Basildon: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the number and percentage of hard-to-treat homes in terms of energy efficiency that will benefit from the Energy Company Obligation; and what other source of funding will be available for hard-to-treat homes.

Lord Marland: Many hard-to-treat homes have solid walls, and as part of our recent consultation we have proposed that the Energy Company Obligation (ECO) carbon target should have a particular focus on solid wall insulation. The impact assessment published alongside the consultation provided estimates of the number of properties that might be treated on this basis. The consultation also asked whether other expensive measures that are appropriate for hard-to-treat properties, such as insulation of hard-to-treat cavities, should be included under the ECO.
	We are currently considering responses to the consultation, which closed on 18 January, and the Government will be publishing their formal response in due course. This will be accompanied by an updated impact assessment.

Energy: Oil and Coal

Lord Kennedy of Southwark: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their latest assessment of the amount of energy that will be derived from oil in the United Kingdom by 2025 and 2050.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their latest assessment of the amount of energy that will be derived from coal in the United Kingdom by 2025 and 2050.

Lord Marland: As part of its annual emissions and energy projections DECC publishes different scenarios for energy consumption to 2030. The assumptions are described in detail in DECC's Updated Energy and Emissions Projections 2011 publication available at: http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/about/ec_social_res/analytic_projs/en_emis_projs/en_emis_projs.aspx. Table 1 contains the projected primary demand for oil and coal in 2025.
	
		
			 Table 1: Projections of primary energy demand1 by fuel in the UK, 2025 (TWh) 
			 Coal 189 
			 Oil 918 
		
	
	1 Includes all fuel used for transformation into other forms of energy (eg electricity, heat or transportation). This is energy before conversion losses.
	Source:Updated Energy and Emissions Projections 2011, October 2011, Annex H
	However these estimates do not include additional policies to meet the 4th carbon budget (2023-27) as set out in The Carbon Plan published on 1 December 2011.
	The Carbon Plan published on 1 December 2011 sets out four plausible pathways towards 2050. Details of these pathways are set out in Annex A of the Carbon Plan: http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/emissions/carbon_budgets/carbon_budgets.aspx.
	These were produced using the 2050 pathways calculator tool, which supports users in exploring these and other pathways in great detail. It is available at: http://2050-calculator-tool.decc.gov.uk/.
	The range of primary energy demand from coal and oil under these four pathways is shown in Table 2 below.
	
		
			 Table 2: Primary energy1 demand by fuel in the UK, 2050 (TWh) 
			 Coal 0 to 198 
			 Oil 225 to 476 
		
	
	1 Includes all fuel used for transformation into other forms of energy (eg electricity, heat or transportation). This is energy before conversion losses.
	Source: 2050 Calculator (December 2011)

Export Control

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government, since May 2010, what licences have been awarded for the export of military equipment; to which companies, and for which country; and, in each case, whether conditions have been imposed to ensure that the equipment is not used against demonstrators.

Baroness Wilcox: The Government publishes information on export licences in the annual and quarterly reports on strategic export controls. These reports contain detailed information on export licences issued, refused or revoked, by destination, including overall value, type (eg military, other) and a summary note of the items covered by these licences. They are available to view on the Strategic Export Controls: Reports and Statistics website at https://www. exportcontroldb.bis.gov.uk.
	As an export licence is required to export arms and other military equipment from the United Kingdom, details about what items were licensed for export to all destinations will be contained within these reports. However, the fact that a licence has been issued does not mean that an export has necessarily taken place.
	These reports do not contain names of applicants or details of whether specific conditions have been imposed. Disclosure of the names of companies would not be in the public interest because this information is provided in confidence to the Government along with other details (such as names of end-users and third parties) which are not published in the reports. The release of information would prejudice commercial interests and would reveal information that has been provided to the Government in confidence.
	Lastly, all export licence applications are rigorously assessed on a case-by-case basis against the consolidated EU and national arms export licensing criteria taking account of all prevailing circumstances at the time of application. A licence will not be issued where to do so would be inconsistent with the criteria or other relevant announced commitments. In particular, criterion two concerns the "respect of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the country of destination", and states that the Government will not issue an export licence if there is a clear risk that the proposed export might be used for internal repression. If the situation in a country changes or new information comes to light that causes us to have concerns, we can and do revoke export licences where we consider that the proposed export would, in the light of the changing situation, contravene the criteria.

Government Departments: Accountancy

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many written instructions have been provided by Ministers in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills to the Accounting Officer for the Department in accordance with paragraph 5.5 of the Ministerial Code in the past two years; and for what reasons.

Baroness Wilcox: No Minister in the coalition Government has made a direction, under the provisions of paragraph 5.5 of the Ministerial Code, to the Accounting Officer for the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.

Government Departments: Records

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government what are the titles of any Government files in the National Archives at Kew dealing with the Republic of Ireland or Northern Ireland dating from the period before 1960 that remain fully or partially closed.

Lord McNally: There are over 11 million entries on the National Archives' catalogue and there is a very wide variety of search terms which may identify records dealing with the Republic of Ireland or Northern Ireland pre-1960. Records dealing with the Republic of Ireland or Northern Ireland are not always readily identified as such in historical catalogue descriptions. Therefore it is not possible to provide a definitive list of file titles. Results for various search terms can be viewed by searching the publicly available catalogue at http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk.
	A search on the catalogue for records containing "Ireland" in the title or catalogue description returns a result of 34,849 records; 429 of these are closed or partially closed and pre-1960. The titles of these records can be viewed by searching for "Ireland AND closed" at http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk and restricting the search by date. Closed files are clearly marked on the catalogue and anyone can request that a closed file be opened under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Government Departments: Restructuring

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government how much has been spent by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills on restructuring the department in each month since May 2010; how it was restructured; what discussions they had with trade unions and others; and how much they expect to spend on restructuring the department in each of the next 12 months.

Baroness Wilcox: In response to the need to work sustainably within a reduced budget BIS has delivered a change programme. As part of this programme the department undertook a restructure which involved: reorganising groups and teams; reducing the layers of management from up to 10 to six; and undertaking a fair and transparent process to select staff to match the reduced total number of posts. There was regular and open communication with staff and the trade unions were fully consulted. The programme has resulted in staff departures: a voluntary exit scheme in 2010-11 under which 330 staff left on voluntary terms; and a redundancy scheme in 2011-12 under which 240 staff left on voluntary terms and up to 18 staff are expected to leave on compulsory terms. The total cost of the staff departures already completed or anticipated over the next 12 months is £43,071,280. The department is continuing to take further action to deliver greater efficiency, but associated implementation costs have yet to be finalised.

Government Departments: Running Costs

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the cost of running the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills in each of the past three years.

Baroness Wilcox: In each of the past three financial years the department has reported, via publication of its resource accounts, that the administration costs of the core department have been as follows:
	
		
			 Financial Year Staff Costs Other Administration Costs Operating Income Net Overall Cost 
			 2010-11 £177,860k £131,770k £18,967k £290,663k 
			 2009-10 £192,091k £179,302k £31,353k £340,040k 
			 2008-09 £183,702k £139,435k £29,436k £293,701k

Government Departments: Staff

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many civil servants employed by HM Treasury and each of its agencies were (1) prosecuted, and (2) convicted of a criminal offence, and how many were as a result (a) suspended, and (b) dismissed, from their post in each of the past five years, broken down by age, sex and directorate.

Lord Sassoon: No civil servant employed by HM Treasury or any of its agencies has been prosecuted or convicted of a criminal offence. None was suspended or dismissed as a result of being either prosecuted or convicted of a criminal offence in the past five years.

Government Departments: Staff

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many civil servants employed by HM Revenue and Customs and each of its agencies were (1) prosecuted, and (2) convicted of a criminal offence, and how many were as a result (a) suspended, and (b) dismissed, from their post in each of the past five years, broken down by age, sex and directorate.

Lord Sassoon: The information requested has been deposited in the Library of the House.

Government Departments: Staff

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many (1) administrative assistants, (2) administrative officers, (3) executive officers, (4) higher executive officers, (5) senior executive officers, (6) grade 7, and (7) Senior Civil Servants, are currently employed by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS); how this compares with the numbers employed by BIS and its predecessor departments in (a) 2005, (b) 2008, (c) 2009, and (d) May 2010; and what estimate they have of what the numbers will be for each of the next two years.

Baroness Wilcox: The table below shows a grade breakdown of staff in the Department for Business Innovation and Skills in each of the years from 2009-12 and projections for 2013 and 2014.
	
		
			  Dec 2009 May 2010 Jan 2012 2013* 2014* 
			 AA 29 44 34 263 258 
			 AO 329 317 248 
			 EO 537 537 449 419 410 
			 HEO 913 910 777 1120 1097 
			 SEO 410 411 374 
			 Grade 7 793 789 659 952 924 
			 Grade 6 372 366 306 
			 SCS 256 233 208 203 198 
			 Unknown** 109 
			 Total 3748 3607 3055 2957 2887 
		
	
	* Staffing projections merge some grade categories
	** Unknown consists of staff out of the department (but paid by BIS), some UKTI staff, and a significant number of former DIUS staff who were out at the creation of BIS, and did not have a grade entered on the system.
	The data required for BIS's predecessor departments in 2005 and 2008 are held in several different sources and to gather this information would on this occasion entail a disproportionate cost.

Government Departments: Stationery

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government how much has been spent by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills on stationery since May 2010; and how much they expect to spend in each of the next 12 months.

Baroness Wilcox: From May 2010 to December 2011 (inclusive) the department has spent £458,833 on stationery.
	The forecasts for each of the next 12 months are not available but future departmental expenditure on all administration costs is subject to business need and is closely monitored as part of the department's 2010 spending review target to deliver a 25 per cent real-terms reduction in our budgets by 2014-15.

Government Departments: Transparency

Lord Kennedy of Southwark: To ask Her Majesty's Government what additional data they have published as part of their open public services commitment since the formation of the coalition Government.

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: As part of the open public services and transparency commitment a large number of datasets have been published to date. A list of these has been placed in the Library of the House.
	List of Transparency Publications since May 2010
	Some of the original commitments have been amalgamated to produce one return.
	
		
			 Publication Frequency/commenced 
			 Publish a detailed organigram for all central government departments (as classified by ONS) to include salary, name and post details for SCS 2 or equivalent and above. 6 monthly/October 2010 
			 Total salary detail for all SCS earning over £150,000 per annum. Total salary includes base pay and additional allowances paid Annually/June 2010 
			 Publish detailed spend data for all transactions over £25,000 for all central government departments (as classified by ONS) and for core government departments to include plain English descriptions where necessary Monthly in arrears/November 2010 - backdated to April 2010 
			 Detailed spend data on all transactions over £500 for all local authorities Monthly in arrears/ November 2010 
			 Historic COINS data from HMT database on spend across government Published quarterly/August 2010 
			 All central government ICT contracts published online; all documentation for tenders over £10,000 to be published; and all contracts issued by central government departments to be published in full All published via Contract Finder as they go live or are awarded/January 2011 
			 Street level crime data maps and data Updated monthly in arrears/January 2011 
			 Full information on all DFID international development projects over £500 to be published online, including financial and project documentation Updated monthly in arrears/January 2011 
			 All local government tender and contract documents published in full Full rollout not complete but some local authorities are publishing/January 2011 
			 Detail of all GPC transactions over £500 for core government departments Currently moving to monthly in arrears publication/October 2011 
			 Create a new "right to data" so that government-held datasets can be requested and used by the public and then published on a regular basis Can be requested though Departments and data.gov.uk 
			 Data published by public bodies is published in an open and standardised format, so that it can be used easily and with minimal cost by third parties All data being published in open format. 
			 DoH to publish data on comparative clinical outcomes of GP practices in England to be published by Dec 2011 following the lead of the NHS in London which has agreed a set of 22 indicators with GPs Dec 2011 
			 DoH to publish complaints data by NHS hospital so that patients can see what issues have affected others and take better decisions about which hospital suits them. Published in October 2011 
			 DfE to publish data enabling parents to see how effective their school is teaching high, average and low attaining pupils across a range of subjects from Jan 2012 Jan 2012 
			 DfE to bring together, for the first time, school spending data, school performance data, pupil cohort data and Ofsted judgments from Jan 2012 in a parent-friendly portal, searchable by postcode Jan 2012 
			 DfE to publish data on attainment of students eligible for pupil premium to be published from Jan 2012 Jan 2012 
			 Open up Whitehall recruitment by publishing central Government job vacancies online New CS recruitment database launched in October 2011 
			 Publish an annual statement to Parliament setting out numbers, names and pay bands of special advisers, the appointing Minister and the overall pay bill - WMS to include salary of those earning over £58,200 Last published centrally by CO in July 2011 
			 Statement covering Ministers' interests published twice yearly Published by CO 
			 Publish at least quarterly details of gifts received and given by Ministers valued at more than £140 Published by Depts quarterly in arrears 
			 Publish at least quarterly details of hospitality received by Ministers in a ministerial capacity Published by Depts quarterly in arrears 
			 Publish at least quarterly details of Ministers' external meetings Published by Depts quarterly in arrears 
			 Publish at least quarterly details of all overseas travel by Ministers Published by Depts quarterly in arrears 
			 Cost of operating Dept (including procurement, employment cost and property) overtime and against projected cost Published as part of Quarterly Departmental Statistics 
			 Cost of corporate services (including human resources, finance, information and communications technology, communications, procurement) as a percentage cost of operating the department Published as part of Quarterly Departmental Statistics 
			 Property cost per square metre and per employee Published as part of Quarterly Departmental Statistics 
			 Cost of standard desktop computer per employee and number of electronic devices (laptops, desktops, mobile phones, etc.) per employee Published as part of Quarterly Departmental Statistics 
			 Value of major areas of spending (office products, travel, etc) Published as part of Quarterly Departmental Statistics 
			 News 28 Oct 2010 - publish details of hospitality and gifts received by special advisors and quarterly publish list of special advisers in post and salaries of those paid over £58,200 Published quarterly in arrears by Depts 
			 MCO announcement - details of Operational Efficiency Programme (OEP) benchmarks to be published online Published in December 2010 
			 MCO announcement - details of Exceptions to moratoria on: consultancy; marketing; recruitment; IT contracts to be published on-line Published in Dec 2010 
			 GO'D letter to Tony Wright June 2009 - Publication of business expenses incurred by the most senior officials in depts - DG and above and non-exec members of departmental boards. Itemised breakdown of travel, hotel and other costs including hospitality given Publication quarterly in arrears by Depts 
			 Detail of all non-consolidated payments made to SCS in 2011 Published October 2011 
			 ePimms data on Government estate data published Published October 2011 
			 Sentencing data by court will be published by November 2011, enabling the public to see exactly what sentences are being handed down in their local courts, and compare different courts on a wide range of measures. The data, anonymised, will include the age, gender and ethnicity of those sentenced, the sentence given, and the time taken at each stage from offence to completion of the case in court November 2011 
			 From May 2012, the national crime mapping website, police.uk, will provide the public with information on what happens next for crime occurring on their streets, i.e. police action and justice outcomes. May 2012 
			 Data on performance of probation services and prisons including reoffending rates by offender and institution, to be published from October 2011 October 2011 
			 Data on current and future roadworks on the strategic road network will be published from October 2011, and subject to consultation extended during 2012 to local authority streetworks registers maintained under statute Published October 2011 
			 All remaining government-owned free datasets from Transport Direct, including cycle route data and the national car park database to be made available for free reuse from October 2011 Published during October 2011 
			 Real time data on the Strategic Road Network including incidents, speeds and congestion to be published Published Dec 2011 
			 Rail timetable information to be published weekly by National Rail from December 2011. Dec 2012

Guantanamo Bay

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Howell of Guildford on 25 January (WA 239), why discussions with the Government of the United States concerning the release of Mr Shaker Aamer from Guantanamo Bay have taken over four years; when they expect him to be released; and whether they expect compensation issues to arise.

Lord Howell of Guildford: The Government remain committed to seeking the release of Shaker Aamer from Guantanamo Bay and regularly raise the issue at senior official and ministerial level with the United States (US) authorities. We will continue to do so, but ultimately the decision to release Shaker Aamer is one for the US authorities to take. The Government will not speculate when he might be released, and are not in a position to discuss possible compensation issues at this stage.

Health: HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria

Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will examine the effect which the Department for International Development spending freeze is having on the Global Fund's efforts to tackle HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria.

Baroness Northover: There is no spending freeze on UK contributions to the Global Fund to tight AIDS, TB and malaria. On the contrary, in November 2011, the Department for International Development was able to bring forward part of the UK's existing pledge to the fund (of up to £1 billion from 2008-15) in order to make sure that all round-10 grants could be signed.
	For the fund's last replenishment period (2008-10) the UK accounted for 6.6 per cent of all donor contributions. In 2011 the UK accounted for 16.4 per cent of all contributions.

Health: Tropical Diseases

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government what funding will be made available to the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine to support their efforts to eliminate elephantiasis; whether they see the eradication of neglected tropical diseases of this kind as central to the strategy of alleviating world poverty; and whether they consider the elimination of elephantiasis by 2020 to be an achievable target.

Baroness Northover: Neglected tropical diseases affect the poorest and hardest-to-reach people. People affected by these diseases are less economically active and often unable to look after their families, causing a cycle of poverty from which it is hard to escape.
	The UK has supported the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine since 1998 and will continue to do so, through their global programme to eliminate elephantiasis, together with GlaxoSmithKline.
	The elimination of elephantiasis is an ambitious goal that is only achievable if all those involved step up their efforts in tackling this disease. At the meeting held in London on 30 January 2012, "Uniting to Combat Neglected Tropical Diseases", the UK challenged the World Health Organisation, the partner countries and organisations to deliver on this ambition.

India

Lord Avebury: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the debate on international development policy on 1 December 2011, what initiatives they have taken in connection with the Secretary of State for International Development's recent visit to India concerning the Dalit communities there, particularly with a view to ensuring that Dalit girls enter and remain in education.

Baroness Northover: We are pressing ahead with the design of a stipend scheme benefiting over 200,000 tribal and Dalit girls in Orissa, conditional on their enrolment and regular attendance at secondary school. In addition we will continue to support free schooling and residential hostels for some of the poorest Dalit, tribal and Muslim girls across India as part of our contribution to the Indian Government's Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (basic education) and Mahila Samakhiva (women's empowerment scheme) programmes.

Institutional Investors: Voting Records

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty's Government in what circumstances they would require institutional investors to publish details on how they vote at public shareholder meetings as permitted under Section 1277 of the Companies Act 2006.

Baroness Wilcox: I refer the noble Lord to the answer I gave on 21 November 2011 (Official Report, col. WA 195). We do not currently plan to bring this section into force. Section 1277 of the Companies Act 2006 provides a power to require the disclosure of information about the exercise of voting rights by, among others, institutional investors. The Financial Reporting Council's stewardship code requires institutional investors to disclose their voting records on a comply or explain basis.

Iran

Lord Kilclooney: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they are aware of any restrictions on the reception of the BBC Persian service in Iran.

Lord Howell of Guildford: There continues to be regular interference with the broadcasting signals of the BBC's Persian service and other Persian language satellite broadcasters. Satellite operators have traced this interference to Iranian territory. In October 2011, the Foreign Secretary, my right honourable friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague) and European Union Foreign Ministers called on the Iranian authorities to lift all restrictions on communications, whether broadcast or online, and to put an immediate end to the jamming of satellite broadcasting. We will continue to urge the Iranian authorities to stop all interference with satellite broadcasts emanating from their territory, and will push for the issue of illegal interference with satellite broadcasts to be addressed at the World Radiocommunications Conference, being held in Geneva this month.

Israel and Palestine

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the Government of Israel about the alleged beating of the co-director of the Beit Arabiya Peace Centre; and about the arrest of Mr Abul Jabbar Fuqaha from his home in Ramallah on or before 25 January.

Lord Howell of Guildford: We are aware of reports on the incidents mentioned by the noble Lord.
	The UK, along with European Union (EU) partners, regularly raises our concerns with the Israeli Government about the application of due process, the treatment of Palestinian detainees and disproportionate force used by the Israeli security forces.
	On the arrest of Palestinian legislators, we have instructed our embassy in Tel Aviv to raise the issue with the Israeli authorities. They have discussed it with the Israeli police. Mr Abdul Jabbar Fuqaha is the fifth Hamas lawmaker to be arrested during January 2012. Together with our EU partners, we are considering what further action might be taken.
	We have not raised the specific issue of the Beit Arabiya Peace Centre with the Israeli authorities.
	Officials at our embassy in Tel Aviv are monitoring the situation closely.

Israel and Palestine

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the Government of Israel about reports of Israeli settlers having broken into Joseph's Tomb, near Nablus, under protection by Israeli soldiers.

Lord Howell of Guildford: We are aware of sensitivities over access to Joseph's Tomb in Balata village, east of Nablus. The Israeli army provides regular escorted visits for Israeli settlers to the religious site, co-ordinated with Palestinian Authority security forces.
	According to our officials at the British consulate-general in Jerusalem, there have been no reports of Israeli settlers breaking into Joseph's Tomb under protection of Israeli soldiers.
	On 27 January, the Palestinian Authority security forces detained five settlers who tried to enter Joseph's Tomb without co-ordination.
	We have not made any representations to the Israeli authorities on this issue.

Israel and Palestine

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they and the Quartet will discuss with the Government of Israel the conditions in which Palestinian child detainees are held.

Lord Howell of Guildford: The UK remains concerned about the treatment of child detainees in Israel. We regularly discuss these concerns with the Israeli authorities.
	The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right honourable friend the Member for North East Bedfordshire (Mr Burt), most recently raised the issue of child detainees with Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Ayalon on 18 January as well as with the Israeli ambassador to London.
	We welcomed the decision of 4 October 2011 by the Israeli Government to raise the age of legal majority for Palestinian children in the Israeli military justice system. When fully implemented, this will be an important step towards protecting children's rights in the West Bank. We continue to lobby for further improvements, including a reduction in the number of arrests that occur at night and the introduction of audio-visual recording of interrogations.
	The UK has also funded a number of projects aimed at improving the impact of the conflict on Palestinian children, including those in detention.
	Officials at our embassy in Tel Aviv continue to discuss the treatment of child prisoners with the Israeli Government.

Local Healthwatch

Lord Harris of Haringey: To ask Her Majesty's Government what are the costs arising from requiring local authorities to put out to competitive tender contracts to run local healthwatch organisations.

Earl Howe: Local authorities are not required to go out to competitive tender for the contract for local healthwatch organisations. Competitive tender is one of the options available to them. Any cost arising from whichever option is chosen will be the responsibility of each local authority to establish.
	£3.2 million is being provided to local authorities in 2012-13 to help with the start-up costs for local healthwatch.

Mongolia

Viscount Waverley: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the long-term prospects for bilateral relations with Mongolia; and whether the Prime Minister has plans to receive the Mongolian Prime Minister in April 2012.

Lord Howell of Guildford: The UK enjoys very good relations with Mongolia. Our officials speak regularly on global issues and our Armed Forces are both operating in the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) mission in Afghanistan.
	The UK also has significant commercial interests in Mongolia and we hope to expand these further in the coming years.
	We receive each other officially at a high level. In May 2011, the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my honourable friend the Member for Taunton Deane (Mr Browne) visited Ulaanbaatar. Whilst there, he met the Deputy Prime Minister, the Education Minister and the State Secretary at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and Trade.
	In the opposite direction, the Mongolian President visited the UK in October where he met the Prime Minister, my right honourable friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron), in Downing Street.
	The Government are aware that Prime Minister Batbold wishes to visit the UK this year. We have not yet received final confirmation of this, but we are actively working with the Mongolian Government on developing the planned visit.

National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence

Lord Harrison: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence quality standards are currently in development for multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease and motor neurone disease; and, if so, when these will be completed.

Earl Howe: We expect to publish details of the quality standard topics being referred to the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), following the engagement exercise, shortly. A copy of the referral letter to NICE will be placed in the Library when it is sent.

National Minimum Wage

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they continue to support the national minimum wage.

Baroness Wilcox: Yes. As stated in the coalition programme for government, we support the national minimum wage because of the protection it gives low paid workers and the incentives to work it provides.

NHS: Foreign Nationals

Lord Stoddart of Swindon: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have plans to implement a requirement for up-front payments by foreign nationals before treatment in the National Health Service except in the case of emergencies incurred in the United Kingdom, in the light of reports that foreign nationals are failing to pay for treatments carried out by the National Health Service.

Earl Howe: Entitlement to free National Health Service hospital treatment is based on ordinary residence in the United Kingdom (lawful, properly settled residence), or exemption from charge under the NHS (Charges to Overseas Visitors) Regulations 2011. These regulations place a legal obligation on NHS hospitals to identify overseas visitors that are not exempt from charge and to make and recover charges from them. Guidance to the NHS makes clear that the full cost of non-urgent treatment should be recovered in advance from patients who are neither ordinarily resident in the UK nor exempt. The guidance is also clear that immediately necessary and urgent treatment must be provided even if payment has not been received in advance.

Ports

Lord Fearn: To ask Her Majesty's Government what tonnage of shipping passed through the port of Liverpool, in or out, during the six months ended 31 December 2011.

Earl Attlee: Official statistics on the tonnage of shipping passing through UK ports in 2011 are planned for release in September 2012 at http://www.dft.gov.uk/statistics. Equivalent statistics for 2010 are planned for release in March 2012, when improvements to the data collation process are completed. Previously this statistic was only compiled on request.
	The latest official statistics on the weight of goods unloaded or loaded at the port of Liverpool show 12.7 million tonnes of inward and 4.0 million tonnes of outward freight handled in the six months up to 30 September 2011. These statistics were published on the Department for Transport website within tables port0504 and port0505 of the statistical release Port Freight Statistics Quarter 3 2011 (http://www.dft.gov.uk/statistics/releases/port-freight-statistics-quarter-3-2011/). Provisional statistics up to 31 December 2011 will be published on 8 March 2012 at: http://www.dft. gov.uk/statistics.

Prisoners: Voting

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord McNally on 20 December 2011 (WA 372), which Council of Europe member countries (1) currently prohibit convicted prisoners from voting, and (2) permit certain categories of prisoners to vote; and for which member countries they have no information.

Lord Howell of Guildford: I will deposit in the Library of the House an updated version of the document which I deposited in response to the noble Lord's previous Question for Written Answer on 21 March 2011 (Official Report, col. WA 123).

Public Bodies

Lord Kennedy of Southwark: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many appointments to public bodies have been made since formation of the coalition Government.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government what percentage of appointees to public bodies still in existence who have come to the end of their term since the formation of the coalition Government and sought reappointment have been so reappointed.

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: The Cabinet Office does not record centrally the number of public appointments made. Statistics on the number of appointments made by year and the number of these which are reappointments are recorded by the Commissioner for Public Appointments for those bodies within his remit. The commissioner's annual reports are published online and the latest information will be available in the report expected to be published in early autumn 2012. Neither the Commissioner for Public Appointments nor the Cabinet Office record the number of reappointments sought, only the number which are made.

Publishing: Licensing

Lord Walton of Detchant: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether in their review of copyright law they propose to abolish licensing arrangements for published works in the education sector.

Baroness Wilcox: There are no proposals to abolish licensing arrangements for published works in the education sector in the Government's copyright consultation. The consultation was published on 14 December 2011 and copies are available in the Libraries of the Houses of Parliament.

Questions for Written Answer

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government what guidance they provide to government departments on the requirement to answer Questions for Written Answer tabled in the House of Lords within 10 working days; and whether they will place a copy of this guidance in the Library of the House.

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: The Government's guidance on answering Parliamentary Questions, both for the House of Lords and the House of Commons is set out in Cabinet Office guidance which can be found at: www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/resource-library/guidance-drafting-answers-parliamentary-questions and the Guide to Parliamentary Work, which can be found at: www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/resource-library/guide-parliamentary-work.
	Both make clear that departments should aim to answer Questions for Written Answer in the House of Lords within 10 working days.

Republic of Macedonia

Baroness Whitaker: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have made representations to the United Nations High Commissioner on Refugees about the commitment by the Republic of Macedonia of social housing and financial assistance for temporary housing for Kosovo Roma refugees.

Lord Howell of Guildford: Our embassy in Skopje is a close partner of UNHCR (Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) and other United Nations agencies within Macedonia. Our embassy has not made any formal representations to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees on the Macedonian Government's commitment to provide social housing and financial assistance for temporary housing for Kosovo Roma refugees. Nor have we made any formal representations to the Macedonian Government regarding specific aspects of support for Kosovo Roma refugees.
	The UNHCR in Macedonia is fully cognisant of the need to continue to work with the Macedonian Government towards achieving durable solutions for Kosovar refugees through voluntary return and local integration, in accordance with the Macedonian Government's strategy.
	The European Union (EU) is also playing a role. As an EU candidate country, Macedonia is subject to annual monitoring by the European Commission to ensure that it meets the standards required for EU membership, including their compliance with EU acquis and international standards in the area of respect for and protection of minorities. The October 2011 European Commission progress report on Macedonia noted that in June 2011, there were 1,554 refugees and internally displaced persons in Macedonia, of whom the majority were Roma from Kosovo. From this, only 24 were recognised refugees and a long-term solution for the remainder was required. The EU progress report noted that the Macedonian Government had provided some financial assistance to Roma refugees from Kosovo.

Republic of Macedonia

Baroness Whitaker: To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the Government of the Republic of Macedonia about support and housing for Kosovo Roma refugees.

Lord Howell of Guildford: Our embassy in Skopje is a close partner of UNHCR (Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) and other United Nations (UN) agencies within Macedonia. Our embassy has not made any formal representations to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees on the Macedonian Government's commitment to provide social housing and financial assistance for temporary housing for Kosovo Roma refugees. Nor have we made any formal representations to the Macedonian Government regarding specific aspects of support for Kosovo Roma refugees.
	The UNHCR in Macedonia is fully cognisant of the need to continue to work with the Macedonian Government towards achieving durable solutions for Kosovar refugees through voluntary return and local integration, in accordance with the Macedonian Government's strategy.
	The European Union (EU) is also playing a role. As an EU candidate country, Macedonia is subject to annual monitoring by the European Commission to ensure that it meets the standards required for EU membership, including their compliance with EU acquis and international standards in the area of respect for and protection of minorities. The October 2011 European Commission progress report noted that in June 2011, there were 1,554 refugees and internally displaced persons in Macedonia, of whom the majority were Roma from Kosovo. From this, only 24 were recognised refugees and a long-term solution for the remainder was required. The EU progress report noted that Macedonian Government had provided some financial assistance to Roma refugees from Kosovo.

Republic of Macedonia

Baroness Whitaker: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will make representations to the Government of the Republic of Macedonia regarding the provision of education and post-traumatic stress disorder counselling for the children of Kosovo refugees, so that those who have been accepted for residence can integrate.

Lord Howell of Guildford: Our embassy in Skopje is a close partner of UNHCR (Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) and other United Nations agencies within Macedonia. Our embassy in Skopje has not made any formal representations to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees on the Macedonian Government's commitment to provide social housing and financial assistance for temporary housing for Kosovo Roma refugees. Nor have we made any formal representations to the Macedonian Government regarding specific aspects of support for Kosovo Roma refugees.
	The UNHCR in Macedonia is fully cognisant of the need to continue to work with the Macedonian Government towards achieving durable solutions for Kosovar refugees through voluntary return and local integration, in accordance with the Macedonian Government's strategy.
	The European Union is also playing a role. As an EU candidate country, Macedonia is subject to annual monitoring by the European Commission to ensure that it meets the standards required for EU membership, including their compliance with EU acquis and international standards in the area of respect for and protection of minorities. The October 2011 European Commission progress report noted that in June 2011, there were 1,554 refugees and internally displaced persons in Macedonia, of whom the majority were Roma from Kosovo. From this, only 24 were recognised refugees and a long term solution for the remainder was required. The EU progress report noted that Macedonian Government had provided some financial assistance to Roma refugees from Kosovo.

Schools: Grammar Schools

Lord Ashcroft: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether, in relation to grammar school expansion, there is a limit as to where an annex to a grammar school can be situated; and, if not, whether they envisage a chain of grammar schools throughout the country, similar to the chains of academies.

Lord Hill of Oareford: Section 39 EIA 2006 and s104 SSFA effectively mean there can be no new maintained schools with selective admission arrangements and we have not proposed any changes to that legislation. The Academies Act 2010 only provides for existing grammar schools to convert to academy status and does not allow any new selective academies to be established.
	It is possible for an existing maintained grammar school or academy with selective arrangements to expand the number of places they offer, including by extending onto another site; split site schools are not a new concept. There are, however, limitations on expansion. It would have to be a continuation of the existing school.

Shipping: Ship-to-ship Transfers

Lord Condon: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the operation of ship-to-ship transfer of oil off the coast of Southwold, Suffolk, following their decision last year to allow such transfers.

Earl Attlee: The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) continues to review the adequacy of the present arrangements for ship-to-ship transfers off the coast of Southwold, Suffolk, and to monitor the safe conduct of operations in this area.
	All STS operations, including those off the coast of Southwold, are supported by a tier 1 counter pollution response level, namely the provision of on-site local resources. All STS vessels are subject to an MCA vetting procedure; this is in addition to the very strict owner/operator/charterers vetting arrangements. If necessary, MCA surveyors will board a vessel involved in an STS operation to carry out a port state control inspection.

Sport: Membership Subscriptions

Baroness Jones of Whitchurch: To ask Her Majesty's Government what protections will be put in place to protect consumers from being locked into long-term contracts, which cannot be cancelled, with private gyms.

Baroness Wilcox: Existing law (the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999 and the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008) provides protections for consumers in this area. In 2011 the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) secured an order from the High Court against Ashbourne Management Services to stop it using unfair terms, including those that imposed a minimum membership term on consumers with insufficient cancellation rights, and those which imposed minimum terms of more than 12 months. On 31 January 2012 the OFT announced it was investigating all of the major gym companies for similar issues.

Taxation

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they would be able to veto the introduction of a financial transaction tax based on the residence principle in respect of trades executed in London.

Lord Sassoon: Agreement to introduce an EU-wide financial transaction tax would require unanimity in the Council of Ministers, giving the UK Government a veto over any such proposal. Therefore, such a tax cannot be imposed on the UK without the UK's agreement.
	Member states, including the UK, can already introduce their own national taxes based on the residence principle, provided that these do not undermine the single market.

Transport: Public Address Announcements

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have issued any guidance about ensuring that public address announcements on trains and buses can be clearly understood.

Earl Attlee: Following the introduction of rail vehicle accessibility regulations in 1998, the Government issued guidance on how the audio-visual information mandated by those regulations should be provided. This is available on the Department for Transport's website at: http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20100406155128/http://www.dft.gov.uk/transportforyou/access/rail/vehicles/pubs/rva/rvareg1998/.
	A guide to good practice for bus passenger technology providers was developed by The Real Time Information Group with the support of the Department for Transport. The guide is published at: http://www.rtig.org.uk/web/Portals/0/RTIG-PR003-D002-1.5%20RTI%20and%20disabled%20travellers.pdf.
	The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport, Norman Baker, has encouraged train companies to ensure messages are clear, but also not excessive.

Unemployment

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Wallace of Saltaire on 25 January (WA 251-2), whether the Eurostat definition of unemployment for full-time students during term-time is the same as the 1982 International Labour Organisation definition, of being workless, currently available and seeking work, which they use in the United Kingdom Labour Force surveys; and, if not, whether they will seek to harmonise the two; and whether the United States follows the practice of defining such students as unemployed.

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Stephen Penneck, Director General for ONS, to Lord Laird, dated February 2012
	As Director General of the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking further to the Written Answer by Lord Wallace of Saltaire on 25 January (WA 251-2), whether the Eurostat definition of unemployment for full-time students during term-time is the same as the 1982 International Labour Organisation definition, of being workless, currently available and seeking work, which they use in the United Kingdom Labour Force surveys; and, if not, whether they will seek to harmonise the two; and whether the United States follows the practice of defining such students as unemployed. [CO] HL15367
	I can confirm that the definition of unemployment used by Eurostat when publishing statistics derived from the Labour Force Surveys of EU member states is consistent with that prescribed by the International Labor Organisation (ILO) in 1982. The definition applies to all categories of people surveyed, regardless of their main economic activity, and at all times of the year. There are, however. some small differences in survey coverage among member states. In particular, the UK statistics relate to people aged 16 and over whereas those for most other EU member states also include those aged 15. The Eurostat unemployment statistics are therefore harmonised in all aspects apart from the age group covered.
	The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) publishes estimates of employment and unemployment every month derived from its Current Population Survey. These estimates are all consistent with the ILO definition and so students are defined as unemployed in the same way as in EU countries. The tables published by the BLS include estimates of unemployment for people aged 16 to 24 who are enrolled in school or college.

Weapons of Mass Destruction

Lord Harris of Haringey: To ask Her Majesty's Government what response they have made to United Nations Security Council Resolution 1540; and what steps they are taking to encourage other nations to respond to Resolution 1540.

Lord Howell of Guildford: The UK strongly supports UNSCR 1540 (United Nations Security Council Resolution 1540). We were active in negotiating the renewal of the mandate in April 2011 and have provided the UNSCR 1540 Committee with a number of status reports in line with, and beyond, the resolution's reporting obligations. UK reporting has been corroborated by the UNSCR 1540 Committee experts and is published on the 1540 website.
	Activity to encourage UNSCR 1540 reporting and implementation undertaken through international initiatives on non-proliferation, the European Union, and the G8, is supported by the UK. The cross-government global threat reduction programme undertakes work in a number of countries to reduce the risk of proliferation by improving physical security measures. Legislative assistance and awareness raising activities funded through the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's strategic programme fund contribute to the implementation of the resolution.